Academy Days
by Falesification223
Summary: "I'm officer Sam Swarek. And due to an unfortunate turn of events yesterday, I will be replacing Officer Shaw as the instructor for this class." Andy/Sam/Rookies in the Academy
1. Chapter 1

Hello again, ff world! This is just an excerpt of a story that I'm thinking of writing. If I get popular demand and positive feedback, then I'll probably turn this in to a multi-chapter fic complete with Andy's academy days and Sam being a teacher in a totally different environment. And not to mention, a ton of other juicy stuff. I've enlisted the help of Balladofbliss to help me out a little with this, too, so a big thanks to them as well.

Let me know what you all think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue

* * *

When Andy walked up to Oliver after the third day of class to ask him something, he ignored her question and looked at her for a few seconds.

"Are you Tommy's kid?"

Andy had broken eye contact for a second, somewhat surprised and debating whether or not to lie. She decided to tell the truth. "Yeah."

The less they could talk about her father the better. She had hoped that by going to a different division than her father after she finished at the academy would get her away from the reputation of her dad. Never had she expected that the shadow would find her there at the academy.

Shaw nodded, "Mm. You know, he was my training officer. I haven't seen him in forever though."

Andy started to nod, sensing and hoping that this conversation would be over soon.

"Hey, how's he been anyway?"

Andy hesitated. How had her father been? Well, aside from being in the hospital that previous month after having a beer bottle smashed against his head and breaking his nose in a bar fight, he was just peachy. This time, she decided to lie. It was much easier to say he was fine and doing well than to share what was really going on.

"He's fine. Doing great."

Oliver looked at her for a second like he didn't really believe her. It was a well-known fact that Tommy McNally was forced to retire due to his alcoholism. Oliver doubted whether any of that had changed since Tommy's retirement. Sensing it was something she didn't want to talk about, he let it go.

"Well, just tell him I said hi."

"Will do." And with that, Andy turned on her heel and headed out of the classroom.

A few weeks later, Andy was awoken by the sound of her front door shutting harshly, a sharp contrast to the peaceful blanket of morning sun and coffee aroma that had been bathing her apartment.

When she got out of bed and stumbled sleepily to her kitchen for some coffee, she heard her phone vibrate somewhere in her living room. The previous night's events flashed though her mind and a small, dirty smile overtook her sleepy features as she remembered Ryan's persuasiveness and cute boyish smile, the one that could get her to do basically anything, _anywhere_. Too tired to look for it at that moment, she went about getting coffee and showering, preparing for the day ahead. Later as she was waiting for Traci, who was now five minutes late, she heard it vibrate again. She stuck her hands in between her couch cushions and looked under the pillows. When that didn't turn her phone up she got on her hands and knees and looked under the couch. After no luck, she tore off all the cushions and threw the pillows on the ground. Alright, then she started to get seriously frustrated. And where on earth was Traci? They were going to be late if she didn't get there soon.

Andy put the cushions back in place and reset the pillows, ready to give up and search later when she got home. She put her hands on her hips and blew out a frustrated breath, about to turn and walk away when something caught her eye. It was her jeans, shoved underneath one of her armchairs, with one of the legs just barely sticking out into the light. She bent over, yanked them out from under the chair and searched the pockets.

At last, she found it.

She flipped it open and found a missed call and a few texts from Traci.

_Hey, Leo has the flu this morning and I have to take him to his dad's for the day. Won't be able to give you a ride. Sorry!_

"Shit," Andy swore under her breath. She grabbed her backpack and jammed her feet into her tennis shoes before rushing out the door.

She raced down the hallway, out of breath and a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She burst through the classroom door and immediately looked to the front of the room for Shaw. Neither he nor his usual bag of donuts were anywhere to be seen. Her eyes flicked over to the clock; 8:02. Hmm.

Class was officially supposed to start at 8, and it was unusual that Shaw was late.

Ignoring the curious looks thrown her way, she crossed the room and took a seat at the desk next to Traci. Traci smirked over at her. "Andy McNally," she said in a mock-stern voice. "Cutting it a little close aren't we?"

Andy huffed out a breath. "Don't even start with me."

"What? I texted you like an hour in advance and told you that Leo was sick and couldn't give you a ride."

"Yeah, but I couldn't find my phone anywhere and –"

Traci raised her eyebrows, "Where'd you find it?"

Andy looked at her as if she had two heads, "What?"

"The phone. Where did you end up finding it?"

"Umm.." Andy hesitated, starting to understand where Traci was going with this. She broke eye contact and looked around the room and replied quietly. "Under one of my living room chairs."

Traci couldn't stop the grin from overtaking her features. "Oh yeah? How did it get there?" She let the question hang as Andy seemed to ignore her. "Does it have to deal with some crazy sex with a certain someone named Ryan?"

Andy's head whipped around to her, "How do you know about that?" She hissed.

Traci chuckled, "I didn't. But that look on your face tells me everything I need to know."

Andy didn't have time to respond when the door to the class was ripped open and a man made his way to the front of the room. She looked him over from head to toe, taking in everything from the scowl on his face to the way his boots quietly squeaked against the tiled floor as he walked.

She leaned over to Traci. "Where's Shaw?"

Traci just shrugged her shoulders as the man took his jacket off and blew out a frustrated breath. Andy couldn't help her gaze from floating to his rather large biceps on display in the grey shirt he wore. He tugged his sleeves up to his elbows before clearing his throat to get everybody's attention.

"I'm officer Sam Swarek. And due to an unfortunate turn of events yesterday, I will be replacing Officer Shaw as the instructor for this class."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! Happy belated thanksgiving to those of you in the states who just celebrated it. Thank you all so much for the reviews and encouragement on the last little chapter. I really appreciate it. The more reviews, the quicker you all get an update. This is the first full chapter of Academy Days, so let me know what you all think!

And a huge thank you goes out to balladofbliss, who looked this chapter over for me.

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

* * *

That night the door to the Penny swung open and a few eyes flicked over to watch Oliver hobble in on crutches. When many saw who it was, they started clapping. Oliver smiled and held his hands up in hello the best he could without letting his crutches fall out from under his arms. Many gathered around him to slap him on the back or shake his hand, glad that his condition wasn't worse.

Eventually he made his way over to the table in the corner of the bar where he recognized some familiar faces. As he approached Noelle stood up and wrapped her arms around him, throwing him a smile as she stepped back.

"How you feeling?"

"A bit tired, a little sore, you know.." he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess you would be after that perp _tossed _you off his porch."

"Hey, hey, I was not _tossed_," he defended himself as he carefully slid onto a chair and set his crutches aside.

"What would you call it then, Ollie?" Jerry spoke up, a grin on his face.

"I..." he stammered, not really coming up with anything. They all looked at him with knowing grins as he figured out what to say. "You know what? It doesn't matter; I still fell like ten feet. It's a wonder I didn't break my whole body."

Sam let out a loud chuckle, "You fell like four feet brother, don't kid yourself."

They all laughed as Oliver scoffed. "Why do I hang out with you people? That was just mean," He feigned offense.

"Well, how about we start making it up to you by buying you a beer?" Noelle proposed.

"Now _that_, would be a step in the right direction."

Noelle smiled and stood to go fetch him a beer from the bar.

Oliver turned to Sam. "So, how was the first day of class?"

Sam took a sip from his beer and shrugged, "Okay, I guess."

"Hey, don't be too much of a hardass. They're practically children, they need to be nurtured a bit at the beginning."

Sam rolled his eyes and looked over at Jerry, who was watching the exchange with a grin. "Like how Jerry was 'nurtured' when we went through?"

Oliver started laughing as Jerry narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "Shut up."

Sam just chuckled in response.

"Man, the look on your face when she told you she had a girlfriend at the end was priceless, Jer. I'll never forget it," Oliver teased.

"And the way she led you on," Sam continued, a broad smile on his face. "Didn't you pick up her dry cleaning once?"

"Shut up," Jerry said again. "How was I supposed to know she wasn't straight?"

"I don't know, probably when you asked her out for the tenth time and she still said no, yet you still did things like walk her dog – "

"I did not walk her dog, Ollie, okay?"

Jerry's phone rang and he looked at the screen with a dirty smirk. He stood up and slid his jacket on. "Now, if you'll excuse me gentleman, I have pressing matters to attend to."

"Oh yeah?" Sam questioned. "What matters would those be?"

Jerry just waggled his eyebrows and walked away from the table.

"Where is Noelle, I thought she was getting me a drink."

Sam looked over to the bar and nodded his head toward Noelle, who was currently engaged in a conversation with Frank. "Looks like she got sidetracked."

Oliver shrugged, not really bothered by the fact that he didn't have a drink.

"Are you even supposed to be drinking? Don't they have you on a bunch of painkillers, anyway?"

"Not important, Sammy," Oliver passed his question over, not really listening. "So did you notice who was on the class list when you took attendance?"

"I have to take attendance?"

Oliver rolled his eyes, "Of course you do, and you also have to learn their names, so get on that."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam grumbled.

"Anyway, guess who's in the class?"

"I don't know," Sam said, holding his hands up, already prepared to get this conversation over with and make his way over to a promising blonde who just walked in the bar five minutes prior.

"Tommy McNally's kid."

That got his attention. His brow practically hit his hairline.

"Yeah, and I asked her a few weeks ago how Tommy was doing."

"And?"

"I don't know, man. She said he was fine, great even. But there was something in her eyes…"

"'Something in her eyes'? What are you, a mind reader? If she says he's fine, he's fine. It's none of our business."

"Don't tell me you don't care about that guy, Sammy, especially after what he did for you."

"Hey! Keep it down, man," Sam hissed, eyes darting around to make sure nobody overheard.

"Sam, it was like five years ago –"

Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes. He reached for his beer and downed the rest of it in a few gulps.

"I think it's time for me to call it a night. It was good to see you, man, I'm glad you only broke your leg and not your whole body." He stood up from his chair and grabbed his leather jacket off the back.

Oliver sighed, "Yeah, me too. Zoe would have killed me herself if I had broken any more bones."

Sam smirked and turned to walk away.

"Hey Sammy," Oliver called out. Sam turned around, "I mean it, nurturing is key."

Sam nodded and turned on his heel to head out the door.

* * *

The next morning Sam walked into class, hungover and grumpy. After heading home from the bar the previous night he went a little overboard on the scotch and ended up passing out on his couch. He woke with a crick in his neck and a roaring ache in his head. Being out of coffee didn't help the situation, either.

Needless to say, he wasn't a very pleasant sight. As he shrugged his jacket off and turned to face the class, he noticed a girl at the back of the class nudge the girl next to her. The girl looked up from the paper she was writing on to her friend, who directed her eyes at Sam. The girl seemed to look him over, probably taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the way he winced under the bright fluorescent lights that illuminated the room. She smirked and went back to writing on her paper.

Class for Sam was going to be brutal. He definitely wasn't in the mood to talk and actively help anybody, but at least they were staying in the classroom that day. For the first half of the training, the class participated in activities outside the classroom two days per week. Activities could range anywhere from going to the shooting range, to traffic control, to interrogation methods. Today he planned on covering a bit of first aid and other procedural things, but taking a different approach to hopefully avoid moving around too much.

He pulled the attendance sheet out of his bag and slid the chair out in front of him. He sank down in the chair and glanced at the sheet, scanning the names. The class fell silent as they waited for him to speak and begin class, not really sure where this was headed.

Sam cleared his throat. "Carson," he spoke, looking around the room.

A guy sitting in the second row timidly raised his hand, his pale cheeks going instantly flush under all the eyes on him at that moment. "Y-yes sir?" he stuttered.

"You're transporting a witness to a high profile case with your partner when you stop for gas. You're inside takin' a leak when a car pulls up, shoots your witness through the window and your partner, who's at the pump. What do you do first upon exiting the station and seeing the shooter's car peel away?"

Carson's chair squeaked as he swiveled back and forth softly, thinking as he took in the scenario. "Uhh..."

Sam cut him off. "No time for 'uhh' Carson. The vehicle is getting away and you have two people with gunshot wounds. What do you do?"

"Call it in, ask for backup!" Carson rushed out.

Sam nodded his head, "Then what?"

After seeing another blank on Carson's face, Sam looked at the attendance sheet. "Epstein," he called out. "What do you do next?"

Dov said the first thing that came to mind. "Shoot out the driver's tires?" The guy sitting next to Epstein elbowed him and gave him a look.

"What?" Dov hissed at him under his breath.

Sam rolled his eyes, "This isn't Call of Duty, Epstein."

Dov nodded, "Yes sir, of course sir."

"You," Sam nodded toward the guy who elbowed Epstein.

"Chris. Chris Diaz," he supplied.

"Diaz, what would you do?"

"Check on the victims sir."

"Good," Sam said with a small smile, somewhat pleased. "Which one do you attend to first?"

Chris thought for a second. "Whichever one has the most severe injuries."

Sam shook his head. "That requires inspection, which requires time, Diaz. If you check your partner first and he turns out to have taken one to the vest, you just wasted time while your witness was bleeding out in the backseat from a GSW to his neck."

Chris nodded, like he understood his mistake and was about to say something. Sam beat him there first.

"So now you've got a dead witness, an injured partner, and one other problem."

Sam looked around the class, taking in the expressions of the students who had no idea what he was talking about. "Anybody know what the one other thing wrong with this situation is?" Seeing no hands in the air or people who actually knew the answer, he referred back to his list. "McNally," he called.

A girl on the left side of the class with a brown ponytail raised her hand, getting his attention. "He forgot to look at the license plate number on the getaway car or take mental note of what the car looked like," Andy spoke confidently.

Sam looked at her, a little taken back by her confident answer. Usually that doesn't happen with this group of people. Hmm.

"Correct."

He was rewarded with a bright smile. "Thank you, sir," She added.

"Okay McNally," he continued, not yet finished with the scenario. "Let's say you do all that and make it to the car. Why attend to the witnesses injuries first?"

She shrugged. "It's procedure. I mean, he's the one you're in charge of right? You protect him first, then your partner."

Satisfied with her answer, he asked another one. "So you get back there, see that your witness does in fact have a gunshot wound to his neck and is bleeding profusely. What do you do while waiting for the bus to get there?"

She has her answer ready and fires back. "Well, since he's bleeding a fatal amount, that means no time to get the keys from the ignition and get the first aid kit in the trunk, plus there's probably not enough gauze in there anyway to soak up all the blood. So I'd find something to apply pressure to his wound –"

"What kind of something?" Sam interrupted her.

"I don't know, something absorbent like my uniform shirt. I'd whip it off and press it to his wound with enough pressure to slow the bleeding until the ambulance arrived."

Sam nodded and started clapping, slow and patronizing. "McNally, my hero. You kept the guy alive until the bus got there."

Andy smiled widely as those around her murmured their approval towards her.

Sam cleared his throat, a crooked smile on his face. "Except two days later, your witness dies in the hospital from infection."

The class goes dead silent and Andy's expression fades, her brow drawing together in confusion.

"What?" She questioned quietly.

"Yup. You, in your hurry out of the bathroom, forgot to wash your hands. We all know what kind of bacteria is floating around in a bathroom, let alone a whole gas station. Then in your hurry, 'whipping of your shirt' and everything, you forget the gloves on your belt. Shoulda put those on McNally, 'cause your witness wouldn't have had to pay the price for your stupid mistake."

"But," Andy tried to argue.

"Next scenario," Sam cut her off. He looked down at the sheet, "Peck..."

Andy didn't hear anything he was saying as she sat back in her chair, defeated. Traci reached over, squeezed her shoulder gently and gave her a reassuring smile.

Sam didn't ask her anything for the rest of the day.

* * *

"I wish you could have heard it, Ryan. He was _so_ unfair," Andy explained while looking at her laptop later that night, seated on her couch with a blanket thrown over her outstretched legs that were resting on the coffee table.

"Sounds brutal," he spoke as he came into the room behind her, two full wine glasses in hand. She turned her head around to look at him and reached out to take one of the glasses from him. She took a sip and looked back at him.

"And I swear, he avoided asking me questions or calling on me for the rest of the day. Do you know how hard it was to sit there from eight to four and only say one thing?"

He smirked and walked around the couch to take a seat next to her. He slung his arm around her shoulder and leaned in close.

"Really hard?" He said quietly, letting his breath linger in her ear.

Andy shivered a little and turned her face to his. "You have no idea." She kissed him softly and brought one of her hands up to his scruffy cheek. She pulled back and looked into his deep blue eyes.

Ryan cleared his throat, "Do I know him?"

"Who?"

"Your instructor." He shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You know, I do attend a lot of benefits that involve a lot of police officers. And I'm the city attorney. There's a possibility we've met."

"Ah yes, the trials and tribulations of being the mayors son," Andy teased him.

Ryan smiled softly, "So, what's his name?"

Andy looked at him for a second, hesitating as she gauged his sincerity. "Swarek, Sam Swarek. Out of fifteenth division."

Ryan seemed to narrow his eyes a little in thought as he processed the name. He sighed, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"Ah, well, it's not your problem anyway," Andy grinned. "It's just routine stuff, I guess. I can handle it."

"I'm sure you can."

Andy exhaled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming over, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. Plus I needed an excuse to get out of the office."

She moved her hand to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. His medium brown wavy hair was at the point where it was just a tad too long, curling tightly at the nape of his neck.

"Are you telling me that movies and wine with me is more exciting than a stuffy lawyer's office with dusty old files everywhere?" She grinned.

He smiled brightly back at her. "I think just about anything sounds better than that."

She shut her laptop and took another sip of her wine before setting it on the coffee table. She looked at him and lifted the edge of her blanket, "Would you like to join me under here?"

He waggled his eyebrows, eliciting a chuckle from her. "Always."

* * *

Reviews mean faster chapters, people! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all SO MUCH for the great response to chapter two! I really love hearing what people have to say about the story so far. Keep it up!

And I know from reviews that many of you have concerns about Ryan, but that story line is going somewhere, so you'll just have to be patient and wait ;)

This chapter is a bit slower, I know, and I had to split in into two pieces or else it would have been massively long. Plus, now you all get an update (during college finals week, I might add. This is nothing short of a miracle here, people). Anyway, please enjoy and remember to read and review!

Oh! And last but not least, a very special thank you goes out to my beta, balladofbliss - I have no idea what I'd do without her!

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

* * *

Andy's eyes slowly swept open as she felt warm lips trailing up her chest. A small smile graced her features as she moved her hands from her sides to the back of Ryan's head, tangling them in his thick wavy hair as he hovered over her. As his lips passed over her collarbone he parted them, letting his breath tickle her slightly. She let out a small giggle and felt him smile against her skin.

"Good morning," Ryan spoke softly, continuing his mission up her neck.

"Morning," Andy returned sleepily. She was quiet for a few seconds as his mouth traveled up the rest of the way to her jawline and waited for him to press his lips to hers.

Before he gave her what she wanted he brought his large, tan hands up to cup her cheeks. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. Satisfied with the chocolatey brown look that he was met with, he finally brought his lips down to hers with a warm, friendly kiss.

"Mmm," Andy sighed, enjoying his feel and his smell overtaking her in the Thursday morning bliss. At that moment she opened her eyes and noticed the sun shining in through her windows, bathing the room in a glowing, peaceful light. "What time is it?" She murmured.

Ryan reluctantly broke away from her and pushed himself up on his palms and glanced at the clock. When he grinned and looked back at her, she looked at him curiously and asked, "What?"

"It's only 6:30."

"Only?" She questioned back, incredulously. "I have to shower and get ready and then you, my friend, have to take me to class."

Ryan raised his eyebrows at her. "I do?"

"Mmmhmm," she nodded.

"But it's so out of the way…" he trailed off, not actually being serious.

"You are _not_ going to make me walk in that snow. C'mon, just do me this favor."

He seemed to ponder the suggestion, more trying to annoy her than trying to actually think about making her walk. "Well, I'm sure there's a way I could be persuaded," he suggested quietly, looking back down at her lips.

Andy chuckled lightly and trailed her hands up and down his bare back, feeling the muscles beneath flex and move as he dropped his weight back down so he could claim her lips.

Ninety minutes later they were out her front door and piled into his car. Andy took in the cramped interior and the overwhelming scent of leather of the fancy sports car as they drove. "So explain to me again how a lowly city attorney can afford a car like this?"

Ryan looked over at her and laughed at her bluntness. "It was a gift from my parents when I got the job."

"Nothing says 'Congrats!' like an expensive car," she commented sarcastically, causing him to chuckle at her again.

When his laugh cleared he shrugged his shoulders in response. "Well, what can you do? I think they were trying to buy my love a little bit. Don't your parents ever do that?"

Andy knew that he really didn't know what he was asking her, so instead of getting indignant or short with him she just nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

She really, really didn't want to have the conversation about her parents with him yet. It had only been a month and half since she ran into Ryan in a coffee shop while she was with her dad and they started talking. He knew her dad, sure, from some retirement party five years ago, but she knew that Ryan didn't know the whole story. And she sure as hell wasn't ready to share it. Everything with their relationship was perfect (knock on wood) so far, she didn't want to tell him anything that would chase him off in a hurry.

Soon enough they were driving only a block from the academy when it hit Andy. If Traci saw him dropping her off, she'd have to explain a whole lot of information she wasn't in the mood to share. On the other hand, how would she bring it up to Ryan? _Hey, let me out here so my best friend doesn't see us and tease me all day about our sex life. _Yeah, no.

So she sucked it up and held her breath as they entered the parking lot, praying that Traci was already inside. She quickly scanned the lot for Traci and found no sign of her or the boys, who would probably ogle over the fancy car and talk about it all day. Ryan brought the car to a stop right in front of the entrance, not catching onto Andy's nervous grip on the seat or her chewing on her lip. He leaned over to her for a goodbye kiss. After the first and the second, and the third, Andy giggled.

"Okay, okay. I have to go, Ry."

He kissed her long and deep one last time and released her. "Ugh, fine," he sighed in mock disappointment, "Go learn cop things."

She smiled and gathered her things and exited the car. She stood for a second in the parking lot and watched him drive off, a silly grin on her face. A low whistle from behind her caused her to whip around.

Andy's cheeks flushed when she saw none other than Sam standing a few feet behind her, catching a glimpse of Ryan speed off down the street.

"Your boyfriend's got a nice car there, McNally."

Okay, and yeah, it's not like Ryan's really her boyfriend anyway. They're not at the 'define the relationship' phase yet. They're just… having fun, or whatever. Nothing too serious but not just a fling, either. But Andy let the whole 'boyfriend' comment and the way he sort of spat the word go as she thought of a response, oddly feeling the need to defend Ryan a little.

She just shrugged, "It was a gift."

Sam raised his eyebrows in question, waiting for more of an explanation. Honestly, when he first commented, he couldn't have cared less about the car; he was just hoping to pester her. But now his attention was caught; who gets a Porsche as a gift?

"From his parents, when he made city attorney," she supplied, already annoyed slightly with the conversation. What business was it of Sam's as to how Ryan got his car?

Sam immediately forgot about the car, his grip tightening slightly on the coffee in his left hand. "Harding? You're dating Ryan Harding?"

"Yep," she said curtly. At his pause, which was accompanied with a furrowed brow, she asked, "What?"

Ever since their little spat last week in class, Andy had kept her head low, trying not to attract any attention from him. Any time he did call her out, she tried to be a little snappy. The academy wasn't the time to show any weakness, she needed to be strong and proud and not let Sam Swarek's demeaning little comments get her down.

Broken from his little reverie, Sam shook his head a little, schooling his expression. "It's nothing. I just worked a case with him a while back, that's all."

Oh. That's not at all what she was expecting. Ryan had said last week that he didn't know Sam. Why would he lie? Andy made a mental note to ask him about it later. It was probably nothing; Ryan's a busy guy who works with a ton of people every day. So what if he didn't remember Swarek.

Andy nodded and Sam turned to walk toward the doors. She followed and murmured her thanks when he held the door for her. As they walked down the hall side by side, Sam turned to look at her.

"Plus, you know, it's kind of a perfect fit. Mayor's son and the daughter of Tommy McNally, the city's top detective for seven years before he retired," he teased, a mocking edge to his tone.

Andy ignored the patronizing comment, "You know my dad?"

"Yep. Worked with him for quite some time before he retired."

"Oh."

Andy was quiet for the last few seconds as they approached the room and went to enter first. When she placed her hand on the knob, Sam's voice from behind her stopped her movements.

"Actually, McNally, I was going to ask you about Tommy."

She turned to face him, waiting for him to speak. Sam was caught off guard by how quickly she turned and almost ran right into her. He was met with the strong smell of lavender, probably from her ponytail flinging about, and found himself staring deeper into her eyes than usual. Had she always been so tan? He took a step back and exhaled, finding himself inexplicably nervous.

"Oliver – I mean, Shaw said he asked you about Tommy a few weeks back," he trailed off.

"Yeah, and?" She shot back, not really seeing where this was headed.

"Well, I just," he hesitated, not sure how to phrase it without sounding weird or overly concerned. "You know what, never mind. Forget I asked."

Andy looked at him strangely before nodding and headed inside the room to her seat, leaving Sam out in the hall. He inwardly cursed himself before turning the knob and heading into the classroom, angry at himself and for some reason, at Andy McNally.

As he got to the front of the class, he scanned the room quickly for attendance.

"Good morning," Sam spoke loudly, a small grin on his face. Today was one of his most favorite days in the academy, even when he was a rookie himself. "Today we'll be going to the shooting range downstairs for round one of the shooting competition."

Small talk broke out across the room as people's excitement took over.

"And yes, it's what you think. First we'll just do target practice by groups and then after lunch we'll have a little competition, ending with the champion, who will get bragging rights until the next showdown."

In the back of the class, Dov turned to Chris with the biggest grin and held his fist out for Chris to fist pound.

Andy hid her excited smile as she thought about the day ahead. He dad had her enrolled in shooting classes when she was 16 as a birthday present (not one that she had really wanted at the time, but whatever, she still went to them). This competition was going to be a piece of cake, that's all. And plus, maybe winning would make Sam be a little nicer to her and earn her some respect. Honestly, she thought, could the man dislike her anymore?

Throughout the morning groups of six went into the stalls and took turns unloading their rounds. Andy was the best in her group, there was no question, but it wasn't _that_ she was worried about. It was the competition that she really had to show her stuff. She started out the morning a little rusty, not having been to a shooting range in about a year, but by lunch she was back at her A-game standard.

When she went back to the classroom for lunch she made her way over to Traci, who was sitting next to Chris, Dov, and another girl with short blonde hair. As Andy retrieved her lunch she heard Dov whispering excitedly to the blonde, whose name might be Gail, Andy thought.

"Can you imagine how awesome that would be? Legacy versus legacy, Peck versus McNally, in a shootout, fighting for…"

"Nothing, really," Traci interjected. "I mean, yeah, the idea of the competition is cool. But there's really not an award. I'd be trying much harder if I had something worth winning for," she shrugged and took a bite of her quesadilla she got from the Mexican place down the block.

Chris spoke up, his mouth full of his tuna fish sandwich. "Yeah, but can you imagine if it did turn out that way? Andy and you," he motioned to the blonde, "battling it out for the title. Man, that would be awesome."

Dov elbowed him as Andy came over and sat by the group, tuning into the conversation. "What would be awesome?" She asked, looking around at the group.

Chris and Dov were silent as they both tried to come up with something to say. The blonde sitting next to Andy turned to her, her fork stacked with salad.

"The dweebs think it'd be cool if we ended up the last two remaining opponents in today's little competition."

"Oh," Andy shrugged, not thinking much of the idea, and unwrapped her sandwich, "What would make that so special?"

"'Cause you and Gail are both legacies," Dov said, as if it were as obvious as the sky being blue.

Andy took a bite of her sandwich and looked around at all of them staring at her and Gail. Andy let out a laugh when she realized they were serious.

"Seriously? Just because we're legacies doesn't make us special, Dov. I'm no better than anyone else in this class."

Dov nodded and leaned forward, "You're just saying that to mess with me, aren't you?"

Andy kept laughing while the others chuckled.

"Dov! Just let it go," Traci said, grinning.

"Whatever, mark my words. One of these two will end up winning, I swear."

Gail just glared at him, "Whatever you say, dork."

* * *

Andy would never admit it, but after the conversation at lunch, she felt a little pressured to perform well. The competition round involved strobe lights, flashing lights, loud noises and different pictures of people, thus forcing them to make the split second decision whether or not to shoot.

So, yeah, she may have psyched herself out a little for it as she advanced through the rounds. At the final six, Andy realized that Peck was still in the running. Well, shit. Way to make her freak even more, universe. As Andy stepped forward to enter her stall, she stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She felt a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing. She opened her eyes to find Traci standing next to her.

"Relax, it's just a stupid competition. Don't let those guys get to you."

Andy nodded. Traci was right, why the hell was she so nervous? There were no stakes, no rewards, nothing. She exhaled deeply as Traci moved away, back into the crowd with the boys and the other members of the class.

"Alright," Sam called order to the class, "Peck, Howard, Thompson, Sandowski, Beckwith and _McNally_, you are our finalists! You may enter your stalls." Sam said her last name like he was surprised and a little angry to find her in the finals.

The intonation was lost on the class as they hooted and hollered for their classmates as they stepped into their stalls. Andy of course noticed it, and resented the fact that he treated her differently for no apparent reason. It was starting to get to her. But no, she wouldn't let that happen. Andy McNally was strong. She was fierce. A pompous, arrogant man wouldn't make her question her abilities she knew were strong, no matter how handsome he was.

Shit, did she just call him handsome?

Well, he _was_, she supposed. Those dark, mysterious eyes, the way his biceps moved around under his t-shirt, and his smell…

Wait. _Focus, Andy, Focus._

Andy heard Traci and the boys rooting for her as she put her safety glasses and earmuffs on. When everyone had their gear on, the class quieted down to watch in concentration.

"Ready?" Sam called.

"Yes sir!" They all chanted back in unison.

The red light flashed three times before the sequence started and they all started shooting.

* * *

Please review! And remember, _things_ happen in the next chapter. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't get this up sooner, the holidays really take up a lot of time with family. And then starting a new semester in college can be quite time consuming, too. As I promised last chapter, 'stuff' happens in this one and I hope you'll be pleased!

A very special thanks also goes out to by beta of sorts, balladofbliss. This story probably wouldn't be the same without her help and guidance.

Please review! You guys are seriously the BEST at reviewing and every chapter amazes me more and more with all the feedback you all give me. Thank you all sooo much!

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

* * *

Andy leaned against the brick of the building thirty minutes after class ended, waiting for her dad to pick her up. She had passed up three offers for a ride home because she was supposed to go furniture shopping with her dad for a new couch for his apartment this afternoon. Now that all her classmates had headed home, the parking lot was deserted and her dad was nowhere to be found.

The winter wind gusted, turning the tops of her ears and the tip of her nose a soft pink. When she heard the rough scrape of shoes against the salt sprinkled pavement she turned and was met with the very person she really did _not _want to see.

"Hey," he spoke, gauging her mood.

Andy narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Need a ride home?"

Andy scoffed and turned back around to face the street. "Nope," she spoke bitterly, "I'm fine here."

Sam sighed, knowing exactly why she was so short with him. Usually he'd yell at a rookie for talking to him the way she had, he was her superior after all, but after today he guessed he completely deserved it.

"McNally, Come on, it's not that big of deal. So what? You lost, there'll be another competition soon enough."

She remained still, not daring to make eye contact with him for fear that she would say something she'd one day regret. Still, he forged on.

"McNally," he tried first with no reaction. "Listen, Andy, I'd offer to take you back inside to try and help you and show you what you're doing wrong, but tonight's Fite Nite," he offered as an explanation.

She turned her head with a look of recognition and realization, but still didn't say anything. Starting to get inexplicably nervous – Sam Swarek nervous, god, this girl –

"Yeah, uh, my friend Jerry, you know, detective Barber, he's fighting and I kinda need to be there –"

"Sir," she cut him off, "I get it. You're busy."

"Yeah, yeah I am. But I mean it, if you wanna take some time tomorrow or next week, I'd be willing to help you with your shooting."

Andy narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.

"What?" he challenged.

"Thanks for the offer but, uh, we both know helping me in any sort of way is the last thing you want to do."

He looked at her like she had completely lost it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't!" Andy fired back without hesitation, forgetting exactly who she was speaking to. It was just so frustrating to go in every day and try her hardest and only be rewarded with snide comments and harsh criticisms.

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" he asked, a little disbelieving that she would challenge him so outright.

Andy realized how she probably sounded by saying her last comment and took a breath, not wanting to say anything more offending. "I just… sorry, sir, but we both know I've somehow cosmically pissed you off and now you're punishing me for it."

"Yeah, like how?"

"Well for starters that one day with the scenario thing you were doing, my answer was right but for some reason you embarrassed me in front of the class." She was wildly gesturing with her hands at that point, too. "And today, when Gail beat me you just couldn't resist, could you? All that stuff about disgracing the McNally legacy, or whatever. And it's like no matter what I do, no matter what I say, you're always there to criticize and belittle me," She finished with a little huff, relieved that it was finally off her chest.

Andy nervously waited for his reaction, expecting to be lectured about respect and seniority, but all he did was just look at her. Sam looked at her face, taking in the frustrated crinkle in her forehead and processing what she had said.

"McNally," he started, softer and quieter this time, like they were about to have a heart to heart or something. "I… Listen, I'm sorry if my teaching style isn't what you're accustomed to, but if I'm hard on you, if I yell at you, it's only because I want you to learn, alright? It's my job to teach you, to prepare you for the streets. That's on my shoulders and I just," he paused and took a deep breath, "I don't want anything to happen to you when you get out there, okay?"

Her expression softened and she just nodded understandingly. He saw her acceptance and shifted his gaze to the ground, scuffing his boot a little on the pavement.

"And uh, I'll try to cool it with the comments," he offered.

"Thanks."

Sam looked back up and saw her smiling softly at him. He stuck his hand out, "Truce?"

Her smile widened and she took his hand, shaking it. "Truce."

He kept ahold of her hand and took a small step forward. "You sure you don't need a ride, McNally?" he asked, soft and low.

Andy didn't know what was happening. One minute they're fighting and the next he's getting cozy with her and offering her a ride? She didn't have time to react when he started inching his face toward hers. She tilted her head up, anticipating what was inevitable.

Sam was a few inches away from her lips when all of a sudden a car pulled into the parking lot, sounding off two short honks. Andy jumped back away from him like a flash and looked at Sam's bewildered expression. The car pulled up and a window rolled down. Ryan.

"Hey, babe. You ready to go? I have to be at a benefit at six."

Andy kept her eyes on Sam for a second before she turned and walked to the car, getting in quickly. As soon as she was inside, Ryan took off out of the parking lot.

"So," he started conversationally, "Who was that?"

"My instructor."

"Ah," he spoke, seeming to mull it over. "What was his name again?"

"Sam. Sam Swarek. He actually said he knew you this morning. He said you worked a case together or something. How come you didn't tell me that when I mentioned his name earlier?" She questioned, not accusing or anything, just genuinely curious.

Ryan shrugged and reached to turn up the heat. "I don't know, I must have not recognized his name. I do work a lot of cases, you know," he defended.

"Yeah, I know, I was just curious. No reason to get upset, Ryan. Sorry I brought it up." She sighed and looked out the window.

After an awkward ten minutes passed, Ryan pulled up to her apartment and looked over at her.

"Thanks for the ride, my dad probably just forgot. Will I see you tonight?"

He thought about it a little and gave her an indecisive shrug. "Maybe, I guess it depends on how late I get out of this thing tonight."

"Okay, well, see you later then I guess," she told him as she exited the warm interior of the car.

He didn't respond and the second she shut the door he took off down the street. Andy shook her head and sighed and dug in her pocket for her keys as she walked to her building.

* * *

Later that night around midnight Andy lie awake in bed, running her conversation with Ryan through once more. She didn't know why he got so upset earlier. All she did was ask simply, she didn't accuse him of lying or anything. Something just didn't feel right.

She had texted him around ten asking if he was coming over or not and was met with no response.

And then there was that thing with Sam that she just couldn't get out of her mind. What had he been thinking? God, if Ryan hadn't pulled up at that second she probably would have slapped him silly. Well, maybe, she thought. She really didn't want to get involved with Sam, not now when she was fresh into the academy for only about a month. Andy didn't really even know he saw her that way.

She got a chance during their fight to look at him. Like, really look; at his dark piercing eyes, thick almost black hair, the little crinkles by his eyes. He was incredibly attractive, she had recognized, and once they got passed the arguing he was actually quite nice to her. But she had Ryan, and now wasn't the time to start getting involved with anybody else, especially Sam.

She was trying to settle her mind when her phone started vibrating on the nightstand. She sighed and rolled over and reached out to grab her cell phone. Seeing the unfamiliar number, she felt uneasy.

"Hello?"

"Andy? Hey, it's Oliver Shaw." She could hear some noise in the background like he was surrounded by people. "I'm here at Fite Nite, and uh, Tommy's here with me now. I think you might wanna come down here and get him."

Andy pinched her nose in frustration.

"Andy?" Oliver prompted again at her pause.

"Yeah," she spoke, throwing off her covers and pulling on some jeans, "I'll be right down."

* * *

She walked into Fite Nite and looked around, trying to spot Oliver and Tommy among the crowd. People were gathered around the ring, cheering on the two female opponents that were fighting. Dispersed around that were high tables surrounded by friends, colleagues, and people walking back and forth to the bar. As she looked around the room, she saw Sam standing by the ring talking to who she assumed was Detective Barber, since he had a black eye and a split lip. In the corner a little bit off to the side, she saw her dad sitting down in a chair and Oliver leaning against the table. She started to make her way over to her dad, not noticing Sam catch sight of her and follow her across the room with a curious, confused expression.

"Hey, McNally!" Oliver called when she approached, giving her a pat on the back.

Andy nodded her hello and looked at her dad. He had obviously gotten into a fight. There was dried blood on his shirt and he was holding bunched up paper towels from the bathroom under his nose. His breath reeked of whiskey when he mumbled his hello at her.

Oliver helped Andy get Tommy into a standing position.

"You gonna be okay from here?" He asked when they got to the back door.

"Yeah, thanks Oliver."

He gave her a short nod and put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a short little squeeze. "Let me know if you ever need anything else, okay?"

"Yup," Andy said.

She led her dad outside to the cab she had waiting. When they neared the car she heard the back door creak open and shut and somebody's footprints in the gravel as they approached.

"McNally, you need any help?"

She turned around and saw Sam moving to take Tommy's other side, helping her guide him into the car. When he let go of Tommy she turned to him.

"Sir, I got it."

Oh, so they were back to 'sir' now, were they? Sam just stood there and watched her finish helping Tommy into the cab.

"Sam, seriously, I don't need your help anymore. Go back inside."

Tommy looked over his shoulder at Sam sternly. "Yeah Swarek, I think you've helped enough for one lifetime," he spat, a double meaning obviously lying beneath his comment.

Andy put him into the car and shut the door, before closing her eyes and taking a breath. When she heard Sam clear his throat she turned around to find him rooted in his same spot.

"About earlier today, Andy, I'm sorry – "

She cut him off with a shake of her head. "Forget about it. Heat of the moment, right?" She asked, shrugging nonchalantly. "It wouldn't work anyway."

"No?" He asked, eyebrows raised in minute surprise.

"No, I mean," she hesitated, "I have Ryan," She offered as an explanation.

"Oh yeah," he smirked, "Your city attorney lover boy. You might wanna be careful with him, just a warning," he spoke, liquid courage ruling his speech.

Andy furrowed her brow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sam waved his hand, "Nothing, nothing. Forget I said it," he suggested.

"Okay, well," she gestured to the still waiting cab, "I'll see you next week then, I guess."

He nodded and watched her round the cab and climb inside. Suddenly he felt the need for a drink, something strong for certain, and headed back inside.

* * *

On the ride home her dad was pretty much quiet until he looked over at Andy and saw her looking out the window with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry about tonight, Andy."

She just nodded and didn't make eye contact with him.

When they got to his apartment she helped him up the stairs and inside his place. She watched as he went to get a tall glass of water.

"Dad, do you know who Ryan Harding is?"

Her dad gave a short chuckle and took a sip of water. "Yeah, new city attorney, supposed to be hot stuff. Why?"

"Do you know if he ever worked a case with Officer Swarek?"

Tommy thought for a moment. "Yeah, I can remember a few times actually. They were thick as thieves before Harding made city attorney. The last case they worked didn't go so well though."

"Why?" Andy asked, intrigued. She felt a little guilty taking advantage of her dad's current state, but she knew nobody else would tell her what happened.

"I really shouldn't tell you this, hunny. Why do you want to know about this stuff?"

Andy shrugged. "No reason."

"Alright, I'm off to bed. Thanks for coming to get me."

"Yup," Andy said in response, not really thinking about her dad as she contemplated what he told her. Something wasn't right with Sam and Ryan. She was going to let it go after how Ryan reacted toward her when she brought it up earlier, thinking that she was just imagining things. But now that her dad told her that Sam and Ryan had worked together _multiple times_, her curiosity was sparked once more. She couldn't say anything to Ryan though, not until she had all the facts or knew more information.

That night she didn't hear anything from Ryan, or the next day. She called him three times that day and every time it went to voicemail. Granted, they weren't really an official couple, but it was odd to go 24 hours without hearing from him or seeing him at all.

That night Andy got the missing link of information she needed when she met Traci at a bar by her house. Traci invited Dov and Chris from their class, and with them they brought along Gail. Andy was returning to their table with another round of drinks when Dov was rambling about his man-crush on Swarek again.

"Yeah and I heard he was tight with some city official. At least he used to be, or whatever."

"Who, Swarek?" Andy asked, trying to stay casual.

"Yeah, but they had some huge falling out over a case. I think it had something to do with a cover up about an abuse case. The guy that told me was very hush-hush about it, you know?"

"Then why are you telling us about it?" Chris interjected. "It's obviously not something to spread around, Dov."

"I just told you guys, alright! Nobody else, I swear," he defended drunkenly. Dov was probably a few drinks under the table by that point in the night. "This guy, you know, he's so awesome. Connections everywhere I bet; Guns & Gangs, the detectives' office, city officials. He's probably in tight with the mayor too."

Everybody just listened to him ramble, not really giving any thought to what he was saying. Andy on the other hand, had the gears turning rapidly in her brain. A cover up? Why would Ryan be involved in something like that?

* * *

Andy headed home from the bar around one after staying late talking and playing pool, which she discovered she didn't have the skill for. She's sure being pretty drunk had something to do with her poor playing, but she didn't really care. Tonight had been a fun night for her to let go and relax, her first since joining the academy.

When her cab pulled up in front of her apartment building she spotted Ryan sitting on her steps, a bottle of scotch in his hands. She handed the driver some money and got out of the car. The cold air had sobered her a little, so she could at least think straight for the most part.

As she somewhat shakily approached her steps – shit, she needed to get some sidewalk salt for her icy path – Ryan spoke to her, obviously drunker than she.

"Have fun tonight?" he asked bitterly.

"Yeah, I did, as a matter of fact."

He took another swig from the bottle and looked at her outfit. "That's a little sluttier than your usual style. Trying to pick up a hot guy at the bar?"

"What?" she asked, surprised at his uncharacteristic choice of words. "No, of course not."

"Hm," he shrugged, seeming to let it go for the time being.

"Can I ask you something about Sam Swarek?" she asked hopefully.

Instantly his jaw clenched. He wasn't as good at hiding his feelings when he was inebriated, apparently. "I thought we were done with that," he ground out.

Filled with liquid courage, she pressed on. "I was going to let it go, but I can't. I asked around, and – "

"You what?" Ryan seethed, standing up to be at her level. "Do you have any idea," he shouted at her.

She skipped right to the point and interrupted him, wanting to get it all out on the table. "What case did you cover up, huh? I heard it was an abuse case. I thought city attorneys were supposed to help people, Ryan! Not cover things up!"

She was cut off as he slapped her across the cheek, hard. She cupped her cheek as tears welled in her eyes and looked back at Ryan, still emitting rage as his gaze penetrated hers.

"I told you to let it go," he spoke quietly to her, his gaze making her feel small.

He bent down to pick up his scotch and took a sip before stuffing it in his pocket. He went down her steps, headed toward his car parked on the street. Andy was silent until he got about halfway down the walkway.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she called out.

Ryan instantly froze and turned around. Andy walked up to him, her jaw clenched and tears rolling down her face every so often from the pain in her cheek.

"You hit some poor girl, didn't you? Just like you did to me. You probably hit her more though, right? Well, enough to make her go to the cops, anyway. Did mom and dad bail you out of that one, Ryan?"

He tried turning around and continuing down the pathway but Andy jumped in front of him, halting his movements.

"Andy, get out of my way," he said loudly, not meeting her eye.

She ignored him and pressed on. "You just can't take people challenging your power, can you? You can't even look me in the eye right now. I hope you feel like the coward you are," she finished, almost yelling at that point.

Finally Ryan physically pushed her out of the way, forcefully enough to send her flying to the icy pavement beneath their feet. He stepped over her and made his way to his car, got in and sped away, leaving Andy crying on the walkway.

When she tried to get up, she cried out when she put weight on her right wrist, which was most likely sprained or broken from trying to catch herself on it when she fell. She clutched her wrist to her stomach as she used her left arm to get up from the pavement. As tears continuously rolled down her cheeks, she unlocked her door with her shaky left arm and went inside.

* * *

As always, let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey y'all! I got this one day way faster than all the others since it was in such popular demand. I really love hearing such awesome positive reviews and am so thankful that you take the time to review. Thanks so much!

A warmhearted thank you goes out to my beta balladofbliss as well.

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

* * *

That night Andy went back inside her house and wrapped her wrist with medical tape for the night. The thought of visiting the hospital didn't even cross her mind, and even if it did she wouldn't have been able to summon the energy to go anyway. In the morning when she woke up she knew a visit to the doctor was inevitable, so she showered – not an easy feat with only one working wrist – and got dressed. When she looked at her reflection in the mirror and noted the purple mark on her cheek from the slap, she opened her makeup drawer and took out her cover up. After slathering on a decent amount to cover up the mark to her satisfaction, she grabbed her coat and made her way to the hospital. After x-rays were taken as a safety precaution the doctor informed her that it was just a bad sprain and gave her a brace to wear.

"How much do you want me to wear it?"

"As much as you can. What do you do for a living?"

Andy hesitated for a second. "I'm in the police academy." She anticipated what was coming next even before she went to the doctor that morning.

The doctor had a knowing smile, "Well, talk to your instructor and see if you can take it easy for a couple weeks," he suggested. "That thing is going to heal on its own, but you've got to take it easy on it for at least three weeks before you do any heavy work with it, alright?"

Andy nodded, a little disappointed and nervous to tell Sam. For the rest of the day she iced it, per the doctor's instructions, and tried to rest it as much as possible. She was worried what would come when she went back to the academy the next day. She didn't want to be kicked out for a silly injury that would be better in three weeks. She had heard rumors that people had gotten kicked out for less serious injuries and that frightened her.

Relief flooded her on Monday when Sam told the class they would just be doing classroom work for the next few days. At least that gave her time to heal a little – and this way she didn't have to tell him for a few more days. For the next couple days she wore the brace religiously and iced it whenever she could.

Every morning before she left for class, Andy would take the brace off. She didn't want Sam to see it, or anyone else for that matter. They would have a bunch of questions that she really wasn't prepared to answer, and it was just better for her to keep her injuries secret for as long as she could. Ryan had called her Sunday several times but she didn't pick up. Throughout the rest of the week he proceeded to call her once or twice a day, leaving voicemails of him profusely apologizing, but she never answered or responded to them. He didn't deserve her time, not after what he did to her.

When Friday morning rolled around, almost a week since Andy had fallen, Traci picked her up since the temperatures had decided to take a serious dive. Traci had noticed at the beginning of the week that Andy wasn't taking notes in class or using her right hand for anything that involved moving too much. She asked Andy about it only for her to brush it off and change the subject. That morning when Traci honked her horn, signaling to Andy that she was there to pick her up, Andy ran out of the house with her brace on, completely forgetting that it was even on her wrist.

When Andy got in the car and pulled her seatbelt on, Traci gave her a meaningful look.

"What?" Andy asked, confused at Traci's sudden expression.

"What's that?" she responded, pointing to Andy's brace.

Blood in Andy's body instantly rushed to her head, turning her cheeks and ears pink as she realized that she had forgotten to take the brace off.

"Is that why you haven't been taking notes? Or anything else with your right hand for that matter?" Traci continued, eyebrows raised.

Andy felt like a five year old girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar when Traci turned on her 'mom voice.'

"Nothing, alright? I just, I fell last weekend walking up to my steps and landed on it." Andy knew the story sounded as fake as it was.

Traci sighed, feeling sorry for her friend, and saw right through her story. She had known that Andy and Ryan got into a fight and that's why Ryan wasn't giving her rides anymore, but she never thought that their fight was physical. She decided not to push Andy to tell her what exactly took place. She would tell her when she felt ready, and Traci was happy to wait.

Traci looked away from her and put her car in gear. After driving for a few minutes she looked over at Andy. "Are you gonna tell Swarek?"

"Eventually," Andy said quietly.

When they got to the academy parking lot Andy ripped off her brace and stuck it under the seat. Traci gave her a disapproving look but didn't say anything. When they got in the classroom and sat down, Chris turned around to talk to Traci. Since they had become friends with Dov, Chris, and somewhat friends with Gail – who wasn't particularly likeable – they had all moved over to sit in front of Andy and Traci. Andy wasn't really paying attention to what Chris was talking about.

Truthfully, she was watching Sam get ready for class at his desk. The way his arms moved and unconsciously flexed beneath his t-shirt, his big hands shuffling papers around, the way his brow crinkled just the slightest amount when he was trying to concentrate on something. She thought about how kind he could be, but then on the other hand how stern and cutting he could be the next minute. Yeah, she wasn't going to tell him about her wrist for as long as she could.

Andy was jerked from her daze as Traci elbowed her in the ribs.

"You hear that, Andy?"

"What? No, no. Sorry I was just," she moved her hand around, gesturing that she was basically off in la-la-land.

"Chris here was saying that today we're going to be doing combat."

Her cheeks flushed and she got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Wh-What?"

"Yup," Chris said excitedly, not noticing her hesitancy. "Swarek told me that this morning. We walked in together. Isn't that awesome?"

Andy nodded nervously and went back to tuning out the conversation between him and Traci. What the hell was she going to do? A string of profanities was running through her mind when Sam stepped up to the front of the class.

"As some of you may have heard," he began, "Today is the start of our combat training. I'm going to talk it over for about thirty minutes to make sure you understand the rules, and then we're gonna start. Understood?"

At everyone's nod, he starting laying down the rules.

Traci leaned over to Andy. "What are you gonna do?" She whispered.

Andy just shrugged and kept her eyes on Sam.

"Andy," Traci quietly chastised. "You can't even pick up a pencil, what makes you think you can fight?"

She didn't respond but looked over at Traci with a mischevious look in her eyes. If Traci was her fighting partner, then Traci could take it easy on her and Andy would have a sliver of a chance of making it out of that day without having to say anything about her wrist.

"No," Traci said a bit louder, causing some people to look at her.

"Nash," Sam called her out, "You okay back there?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir," She told him.

They didn't talk again until Sam took the class upstairs to the large gym, where the floor was covered in mats for the exact purpose of combat training. The mats were divided into about twenty equal squares for each pair to fight. When Sam told them to pair up, Andy gave Traci a hopeful look.

"You need to tell him, Andy. Now," She told her sternly.

Andy gave her a pleading look. "I can't, and you know that. I'll be kicked out of this place in two seconds."

Traci thought about it. Her friend was undoubtedly right, but she hated to participate in the charade that Andy was actually okay.

"Fine," she conceded.

When everybody got their gloves on and found a partner, Sam told them to find a square and just start out with some basic sparring. Andy and Traci took it easy for a while and Traci avoided Andy's right side like it was the plague. As Sam walked around the room watching everyone spar for a little bit, he would shout out pointers to people who needed them as he saw fit.

"Alright, bring it up a notch. Try to get you partner to the ground!"

When he came across Andy and Traci and watched them for a minute or so, he noticed that Traci was only going for Andy's left side.

"Nash!" He called to her, "What's with the unequal treatment you're doing? Go for her right side!"

Sam got increasingly frustrated as he noticed that Andy wasn't using her right side as much as she should be. Every shot she took with it was a blank, and after a while he started to think it was intentional.

Andy gave Traci a look as she noted that Sam was becoming overly engrossed with their fight. Traci gave her a look of permission, and before she knew it Andy stuck her leg out and swept Traci off her feet, causing her to thud to the ground.

"Nice one McNally!" Sam praised her. "Nash, you gotta pay attention if you don't want to end up on your ass every time you get in a fight with a suspect."

Traci nodded and held her hand out for Andy to grab and pull her up as Sam walked on to see other fights.

"You owe me," Traci ground out.

Andy nodded profusely, "Thanks for that, Traci," referring to her taking the fall in their fight.

"Alright, same objective, different partners." Sam yelled.

"Shit," Andy said. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Andy!"

She looked up and saw Chris walking toward her. "Partners?" He asked.

Andy nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, sure."

This time around was way different. Chris was obviously unaware of her injury so he took it way harder on her than Traci did. Within a few minutes Chris noticed her weakness on her right side and took advantage of it. She was falling to the ground soon after that. When she fell, she reflexively caught herself on her wrist and cried out as soon as she hit the mat.

"Woah, Andy, are you alright?" Chris asked. "Should I get Swarek?"

Andy shook her head no, "Chris, I'm fine," she said, trying not to draw any more attention than she already had with the staring people around them. "I'm fine, just help me up." She held out a hand and he hoisted her up.

Chris looked at her wrist, which she was clutching to her stomach. "I think we should get Swarek," he tried again. She was going to tell him no again, maybe threaten him or something, but she didn't get a chance as Sam strode over quickly.

"What happened?" he questioned when he saw Andy and her wrist.

"Nothing, sir," Chris explained. "I just did what you said, I got her to the ground."

Sam assessed the situation and nodded. "Alright Diaz, you take over for me."

"What?" Chris asked, baffled.

"I'm going to take McNally to first aid and wrap her wrist. Keep an eye out in here."

Chris didn't really have a chance to respond when Sam put his hand on Andy's lower back and ushered her out of the gym.

They went down the hall to the first aid room and Sam opened to door for her. There was a table in the middle of the room that he motioned her to take a seat on top of as he searched for medical tape or anything that would secure wrist. When he found a few ace bandages he was satisfied and stepped back over to her. She opened her legs unconsciously for him to step between and waited for him to say something.

He motioned for her wrist, which she reluctantly moved away from her stomach and held out to him. They were both quiet for a moment as he started wrapping her wrist.

"Why didn't you say something at the beginning of class that you were hurt?"

"What?"

He gave her a look. "C'mon McNally, there's no way you hurt it this bad by falling on a padded mat out there."

She didn't meet his eye and tried to summon the story she had told the doctor at the hospital. Instead she went with answering his initial question.

"I didn't say anything because, well, haven't people been kicked out of the academy for less?"

His eyebrows rose and pushed together as he gave her a confused look.

"I mean," she continued, "With this wrist I can't participate in many of the crucial activities here. I can't hold a gun, I can't practice combat," she ticked off on the fingers of her good hand. "I was just hoping my wrist would heal before I had to use it here, I guess."

Sam was silent for a moment. "How long did the doctor say it would take to heal?"

"What?" she asked.

"I'm assuming you went to the doctor, yes?" She nodded. "How long before you can do anything with it?"

"Three weeks."

Sam nodded and finished up wrapping her wrist. When he secured the last piece of tape he met her eye and stared at her for a moment. Nervous that he wasn't saying anything to her about her healing time, she ducked her head and looked at the floor. Her cheek caught just the right light and her bruise shined through her layer of makeup which had become thinner from her sweating.

"I get if you want me to drop out and continue when my wrist is –"

"What's that?" he asked, bringing his pointer finger up to her cheek.

"What's what?" She responded ignorantly, tilting her face up towards his.

Instead of answering her, he cupped her jaw and used his thumb to wipe away some of the smeared foundation only to reveal a small mark, yellow and green in color. Andy hated this. She hated feeling vulnerable, and the way he looked at her then made her feel weak and pitied. And she would probably never admit this out loud, but the way he was standing in between her parted legs was starting to make her feel a little warm. And when he took her jaw in his rough hands, butterflies instantly appeared in her stomach.

"McNally," he said slowly, "What really happened?"

Andy could see that he was starting to get a little angry by the way he said it so low and controlled. She looked away from him even though he still had his hands on her jaw.

"Nothing, I fell walking up the path to my apartment. It was really icy and I slipped."

"Did you tell the hospital the same bullshit you're trying to get me to believe?" he asked, a bit louder now.

"What? No, Sam, that's what happened. I fell, alright?" She wretched her jaw out of his grasp, hoping he would just let it go.

Sam took a step back and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment he looked at her again. "Andy, I need you to tell me the truth," he hesitated a little before continuing, "Did Ryan do this?"

Andy squared her jaw and looked at him defensively. "Why? You gonna help him cover it up again if I decide to press charges?" She knew it was the worst thing she could say at that moment, but the comment was out of her mouth before she could even think about it. At his startled and bewildered expression, she continued. "Know anything about that, sir?"

"What do _you_ know about it? That's the real question here."

She sighed, "Technically speaking? Not much. I just… guessed, really."

"And that's what led to," he gestured to her face and arm, "This?"

Andy nodded. "I should have backed off when he told me to. And he was drunk at the time. This was really my fault, I mean –"

"Andy," he cut her off. "This is in no way your fault, you hear me?" he asked, bending his knees so he could meet her eye.

"Yeah," she responded quietly.

They held eye contact for a few seconds before Andy dared to ask her next question.

"Why'd you do it? Why did you help him?"

Sam sighed, "It's… complicated, to say the least."

"It doesn't sound complicated. He beat some poor girl up, you helped him slide it all under the rug."

He shook his head, "I can't really tell you right now. We can meet for a drink or something later if you really want to know."

"Yeah, that would be great," She smiled.

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I hope you guys liked it! As always, please review! More reviews = faster update


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you so, so much for all the reviews on the last chapter! You have no idea how much I love hearing from all of you and your thoughts on the story. Keep it up!

A sincere thank you goes out to my beta, balladofbliss, who helped me through a particularly rough section in the chapter and worked out all the kinks. I don't know what I'd do without her.

Without further adieu, here's the chapter! Don't forget to review when you're finished!

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

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Sam parked his truck in the parking lot of the neighborhood bar a few blocks from his house where he told Andy to meet him. The place was quiet and off the beaten path for anybody he knew, which meant the chances of him running into anybody from the division or elsewhere were slim. Only his second time inside the place, it struck him as he walked in the door how similar the bar was to the Penny. This place had more sit-down tables for people who wanted to order food and was a little more family friendly, but aside from that it was pretty close in appearance.

He walked over to the bar and took a seat, signaling the bartender for a beer. The place was moderately busy, and after a few minutes Sam wondered if he had missed Andy somewhere in the bar and scanned the place. Soon enough, the door swung open and there she stood.

Her cheeks were bright pink as was her nose, and she had her arms folded over her chest, looking as though she was trying to seal in her body heat. Her straight hair was particularly messy, probably from the wind Sam guessed, but then the thought occurred to him that she had evidently walked to the bar which frustrated him slightly.

He watched as she ran her eyes over the room in search of him, and when she caught sight of him at the bar they made eye contact and she smiled before walking over and taking a seat beside him.

"Hi," she greeted him, a little too enthusiastically.

"Hey," he grinned over at her. "Want a drink?"

"Yes, definitely."

After the bartender delivered her beer, she took a long drag from the bottle before setting it down on the bar. She didn't really know what to say about the obvious elephant in the room. Would he bring it up or should she?

"Did you walk here?"

Andy creased her brow and nodded, not really having expected that to start out their conversation.

Seeing his concern, Andy explained further, "I don't really have a choice you know."

"A cab?" he suggested.

"Ryan used to give me rides everywhere. And we're not exactly on speaking terms as you know, so…" she trailed off, letting the sentence hang out there.

Sam nodded, looking back down at the bar. "Good. So you're not still seeing him then?"

"What?" Andy asked a little too loudly, kind of out of joint about what he was suggesting. "Of course not, Sam!"

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, you never know. Hundreds of women go back to their abuser. I used to see it every day, McNally."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, looking him dead in the eye, "Not me."

She decided not to mention that Ryan still called her every couple of days and left voice messages. There were around eight stored in her phone that she hadn't listened to yet. Honestly, she didn't know if she would ever listen to them. Right now, in her current state of mind, it was easier to just ignore him and forget about what happened and move on. No sense dwelling in the past, especially when the past infuriated her because of the simple fact that she knew she would never be able to do anything about it. Andy downed the rest of her beer in a few sips and gestured for another one. Seeing that Sam was low, he brought them each a beer.

"You going to press charges?" Sam asked after the bartender walked away.

Andy scoffed and looked away. "Yeah, I'd bet you know all about that," she muttered under her breath.

Sam's eyes momentarily flashed with anger and before he chuckled a little self-deprecatingly. "I was wondering if you were gonna bring it up."

Andy just shrugged.

"So?" Sam asked, "You wanted to talk, so talk."

She sighed calmly before making eye contact. "What happened?"

"Long story short? I didn't have a choice. I wanted to tell, but my superior officer made me keep it quiet."

"So you just stood by and let it happen?" Andy asked, exasperated.

"Well, I could've blown the whistle, gotten myself fired. But what good would that have done?" He asked, not really expecting an answer back. "No matter what I did, it still wouldn't have made a difference for her." He paused and let out a breath. "And trust me, it was made very clear that if I didn't keep my mouth shut that there would be major consequences. He was the mayor's son, alright? My hands were tied."

Andy looked back down at her beer and picked at the label. He was right, and she knew it. Sam was the type that had wanted to be a cop for a majority of his life, and sometimes cops got stuck in impossible situations like that, where no decision was a good one. She knew it was wrong, but he did have a point.

"What about the girl?" Andy asked quietly.

"I made sure she was taken to the hospital and given the proper care. At first I thought she was full of it, you know? I had been good friends with Ryan for a couple of years at that point and worked with him quite frequently, and I just didn't want to believe it."

"What convinced you?"

"I don't know," he shrugged and took a long drag from his beer. "Sometimes you just know. All of the pieces started to fit together and I knew that the girl wasn't lying."

"Hm. So why didn't she tell?"

"Too scared to do anything. She knew who he was and what his family was capable of and decided against going after him."

"So what happened?" Andy asked. "To the girl, I mean."

"Moved far away the second she got out of the hospital. I tried to convince her to stay and press charges, but it was no use. She was determined to leave."

Andy nodded, slowly processing all that Sam had told her. She was mad at him for covering it up so to speak, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. It was a lost cause. After thinking about it for a minute or two, Andy spoke up.

"I'm sorry for assuming that you were the bad guy in this earlier, I just –"

Sam waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I know how it looks from the outside."

A small smile graced Andy's features and she lifted her beer to her lips.

After a few moments of comfortable silence Sam cleared his throat and looked at her. "I've decided what to do about your wrist."

Andy creased her brow, worried about what he was going to say. They really hadn't discussed what the plan was earlier, and Andy desperately hoped that she wouldn't have to drop out.

"I'm not going to file a report or anything. If I tell anybody then it'll only be days before you're kicked out."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well, since you can't really participate in any of the physical things right now and I can't really change the whole class dynamic just for you, I've come up with a compromise."

"And that is?"

"After that thing is healed," he tapped her brace, "We're gonna do after class sessions a couple times a week to get you caught up. One on one type of stuff. That alright with you?"

"Yeah," she nodded happily and grinned. "Thanks for doing this, by the way. It means a lot."

Sam leaned in a little closer to her and bumped shoulders with her. "Sometimes you gotta put in the extra effort if you want to achieve your goal."

Andy grinned and they continued their conversation for about an hour longer. They talked casually about things like Sam's days in the academy with Oliver, his undercover operations, stuff like that. Around eight Andy took her final swig of her fourth beer and set it down on the bar.

"You ready to go?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I've got to babysit Leo for the night. Traci's got a hot date." At his confused expression, she continued. "She has a son named Leo. But I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to tell you that she had a kid."

"Her secret's safe with me." Sam responded, placing his hand on his chest mockingly, drawing a giggle from Andy. They both were a little tipsy, instilling a flirty undertone to their conversation. Andy tried to ignore it, but she knew there was a spark there between her and Sam. It was undeniable that she was attracted to him, and based off his actions she assumed that he felt the same way.

"Well anyway, she's bringing him by my place between eight thirty and nine, so I should probably head out."

"I was just thinking the same thing," he said, his eyes wide. "What a coincidence. Let me give you a ride home."

"You don't have to do that, Sam –"

"I insist," he grinned, taking out his wallet and slapping some money down on the bar for their drinks.

"Well, I mean, since you're insisting and all, I think I'll take you up on your offer." Andy smiled.

The ride to her house was filled with entertaining banter, and at one point Andy found herself forgetting all about Ryan. She thought how nice it was to be with Sam and how he made her feel. She didn't really want a relationship so soon after Ryan, but she wasn't stupid either. A relationship with a superior in the academy was greatly frowned upon. She was pretty sure it was actually a rule.

When she directed Sam to her apartment building, he pulled into the parking lot and parked his truck in a space closest to her front door.

"You don't exactly live in the safest neighborhood, McNally."

She shrugged and reached for the door handle, "Yeah, well rent is cheap. I had to get out of my dad's place at some point."

Sam bit his lip a little, trying to decide whether or not to bite his tongue. The alcohol in his system definitely loosened the tight restraint he usually had on what he said and how he reacted, so he went ahead and asked what he wanted to, not really thinking of the outcome that was possible.

"Hey. How's he been anyway?"

"My dad?"

"Yeah."

"He's," she hesitated, searching for the right word or phrase. "Doing as well as can be expected I suppose after, well, you know."

Sam knew that she was referring to Tommy's retirement scandal a few years back, and judged by the look on Andy's face to let it go. It was obviously not something she liked to talk about, given her sudden darkening mood change when he asked the question.

She looked over at him hopefully. "Walk me to my door?"

Sam knew where that was headed, and inside his head his brain was shouting at him to say no. Not only was it against the rules, but she had just broken up with Ryan less than a week ago. She wasn't ready, and honestly, Sam didn't know if he was ready for a complicated relationship either. Alcohol was still running through his veins though, so Sam ignored the rational, logical part of his brain and did what he instinctively wanted to do.

"Sure."

"You never know," she began opening her door, "A criminal may come and snatch me up on my way to the door."

Sam chuckled. "We certainly can't have that."

He met her at the front of his truck and placed his hand on her lower back as they walked up the snowy walkway to her door. Before he left for the bar that evening he had known it was supposed to start snowing, but by the time they left the bar there was nearly an inch dusting the pavement and streets.

When they reached her door, she took her keys from her pocket and unlocked her door. She stepped inside her apartment, set her things down on the floor and flicked a light switch on so it wasn't so dark. She turned back to find Sam standing on her door mat, a small grin on his face as he watched her movements.

She smiled. "Thanks for walking me up. And the ride home, too."

"It's no problem."

Andy felt a little self-conscious then, seeing the way his eyes darkened as he looked at her. He seemed to be searching her face for something, but Andy didn't know what. Suddenly she became very aware of her breathing and the way it hitched when he took a step forward and placed his hand on her hip.

She knew he wanted to kiss her, but she didn't know if she was ready. A few days ago if somebody had asked her what she thought of Sam Swarek, she would have told them that he hated her for some unknown reason. But tonight, here he was on her front stoop with his hand on her hip and leaning closer as the seconds ticked by. She could smell alcohol on his breath, and she surmised that hers probably smelt the same. Having a slight height advantage – since she was standing inside her house, which was a few inches higher than her porch – was definitely working for her.

Instead of looking up into his eyes like usual, he was the one peering up at her. It gave her a whole new perspective of his face and allowed her to really notice the things about his face that she hadn't before. She didn't have too much time though, because before she knew it he was only inches from her face.

Forcing herself to stop overthinking it, she followed what her heart wanted and brought her hand up to his cheek, so that her thumb was resting on his cheekbone and her fingers were able to stretch back to the hair behind his ear and lightly run her nails through it. He took this as a good sign and closed the space between them in a heartbeat.

The kiss was closed mouthed, but it was one of the best kisses Andy had ever experienced. It seemed to last longer than it did in reality, and when he pulled back to gauge her mood Andy wrapped her other arm around his neck, bringing him in for another kiss.

The second one was pure passion that had him stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her slightly so he could push them inside the apartment while never breaking the kiss. He backed her up against the nearest wall and started to set her down. They broke the kiss and Andy smiled up at him.

"What?" he asked, worried that he pushed her limits too far.

She smirked. "This may make working together hard now."

"What, not gonna be able to stop fantasizing about me, McNally?" he teased.

Andy scoffed mockingly. "You wish."

He put his arms on either side of her head and leaned back in for another kiss, which she greedily accepted with enthusiasm. She just couldn't get enough of him. His smell, the way he nipped at her lip sometimes when he pulled back from a kiss, the way his tongue moved and battled with hers; everything about him had her coming back for more.

Eventually they had to break apart for the need of oxygen, but he didn't stop then either. His lips traveled their hot path down her neck and to her behind her ears, where he stopped to suck on her impeccably soft flesh. She was sure there would be a mark in the morning, but couldn't really bring herself to care as this beautiful man praised her body. He bit down rather hard on her neck and immediately used his tongue to sooth the sting, he had her gasp and wrap a leg around his waist.

His hand reached back to grab her leg and hitched it higher before grinding his hips into hers. She moaned loudly, but was cut off by a knocking at her door. They both froze and Sam leaned back to look in her eyes, suddenly open wide with shock.

"Shit!" She whispered, "It's Traci and Leo."

Sam had forgotten about her mentioning that Leo was spending the night at her house earlier. Well, this should be interesting, he thought.

Another knock at the door had Andy scrambling into action. "Come here," she ordered Sam as she walked over to a door.

"Andy, I'm not hiding like some sixteen year old kid."

"Yes, you are." She insisted, grabbing his arm and pulling him into her bedroom. "Just stay here until I get Leo situated watching a movie or something and then sneak out, okay?"

Another knock at the door had Andy yelling, "I'm coming," anxiously down the hall.

"I don't have to hide," he said again.

"Yes, you do. Ryan and I have barely been over for a week and now I'm making out with random men in my foyer. She can't know about this," Andy explained, rambling quickly.

Ignoring the fact that she classified him as a 'random man,' he asked another question. "Who can't know?"

"Traci!" she seethed. Obviously he didn't understand girl logic very well. "Now stay here and shut up," she ordered again, this time leaving no room for objection as she slammed the door and ran off down the hallway to her front door.

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As always, please review!


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